Doctors and nurses during the recent coronavirus outbreak do not only have to fight the virus, but they are also in a fight with their personal protective equipment (PPE). After long shifts, many health care professionals have marks, blisters and severe skin irritation from their facemasks and goggles.

Images of the face mask “battle scars” have been posted and shared to social media and have put a human face on the current crisis.

With the coronavirus pandemic projected to last months, a new solution to prevent battle scars has emerged using Kinesiology tape. SpiderTech, a division of NUCAP Industries family of technology companies such as NRS Brakes and GripMetal, pioneered pre-cut Kinesiology tape applications as a way to take pressure off overused muscles and reduce pain for athletes.

The tape is breathable and will not aggravate the skin, and this makes it perfect for protecting the faces of medical professionals and first responders forced to wear a facemask for long periods.

By applying anywhere from one to three strips of Spider Tech pre-cut tape to the face in an either over the bridge of their nose or in a triangle pattern around the nose and mouth, it protects the face from the pressure applied by the elastic bands of a surgical mask. The gentle tape will not irritate the skin and can be easily removed. Also, the strip over the nose can improve breathing.

“The idea came about after seeing the pictures of nurses from all over the world after they took off their masks,” said Montu Khokhar, CEO of Spider Tech. “We knew we had to do something to help these people.”

SpiderTech is also offering wide roles of Kinesio tape that can be put on top of face strips to create a DIY mask. The user can place any piece of filter material behind the tape for added protection.

The innovative solution comes from a company with a 25-year track record of improving safety-related products. NUCAP’s foundations are in the brake industry as a stamper and manufacturer of brake backing plates. Using a patented process, NUCAP improved the common brake pads with mechanical attachment hooks on the backing plate. The shark-teeth like projections secure the friction material to the backing plate. This innovation improved the safety vehicle and mandatory for some police vehicle fleets. NUCAP recently launched a line of brake pads called NRS Brakes, which utilizes Galvanized steel, removing all the paint and adhesives and ultimately increasing brake pad life to make it the greenest brake pad in the market.

In 2009, Spider Tech was founded by NUCAP. Therapists were already using kinesiology tape on athletes, but the application of the tape required time and a professional. NUCAP used its expertise of stamping brake pads to create pre-cut applications that could be applied by the everyday user.

The pre-cut face strips can be purchased at www.SpiderTech.com/face-protection.